US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced a 100 percent tariff on all movies produced outside the US in a move aimed at reviving the American film industry.
In a post on Truth Social platform, Trump said he has authorised the Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative to immediately begin the process of instituting such a tariff on all movies “produced in foreign lands”. However, he gave no details on how it would be implemented.
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” Trump said in the Truth Social post, criticising other nations for offering lucrative incentives to draw US filmmakers and studios away from the US, which he said was “devastating” Hollywood and other areas within the US.
“This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat,” Trump said, adding “It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”
Announcing 100 percent tariffs on movies produced outside US and emphasising need to return to domestic film production, he further wrote: “Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”
The US film industry has already been affected by the tariffs as China responded to the announcements made by Trump by reducing the number of American movies allowed into their country.
“The wrong action of the US government to abuse tariffs on China will inevitably further reduce the domestic audience’s favourability towards American films,” the China Film Administration had stated in a statement on 10 April,The Guardian reported.
“We will follow the market rules, respect the audience’s choice, and moderately reduce the number of American films imported,” the statement noted.
China is the world’s second largest film market after the US, but the domestic offerings in the recet years have outshone Hollywood imports.
However, the tariffs would deliver a major setback to Western studios—particularly the Walt Disney Company, Paramount Global, and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.—which are still working to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
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